UAE Govt warns against dependence on Indian rice.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) would reduce its dependency on India for rice imports and target other markets, says the country’s ministry of foreign trade, amid increasing fears that prices are set to soar.

According to the ministry’s data, India provides about 72% of the UAE’s rice imports, with 21% coming from Pakistan and 6% from Thailand.

“(There’s) An importance of avoiding the risks of relying on India, and increasing Thailand’s share,” the report said. The UAE, the world’s largest re-exporter of rice with 93% of global trade, is a crucial link in the supply chain of food for developing countries, so any shocks to rice supplies would have a major impact among many of the world’s poorest countries.

India has imposed a ban on exports of non-basmati rice since the last period of food price rises, caused by record oil prices in 2007 and 2008. The final quarter rice harvests worldwide are expected to be lower than previous years.

The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has said that crop losses after flooding in Pakistan could negatively affect the rice trade globally.

The agency also estimates that global exports next year will sink to 29 million tonnes, down from a forecast of 30.4 million this year.

V Subramanian, a regional vice-president for The Rice Trader, a commodities researcher, said the UAE’s recommendation reflected caution following food supply shortages in recent years. “When talking about supply shocks, it really originates from 2008, with the first [Indian] export ban and the subsequent Vietnamese ban,” he said.

Source : fnbnews.com